The Parisian suburbs—la banlieue—are a multifaceted space inhabited by 8 million people where history and tradition meet social turmoil and exclusion. Through an exploration of this complex environment, learners can access a deeper understanding of contemporary France. They can reconsider the stereotypical view of Paris as a city of light through an encounter with antithetical representations of the political and societal changes reflected in the banlieue. Literary texts, films, political cartoons, music and media coverage provide exceptional pedagogical resources and exemplify some of the most vivid innovations of French language. These resources provide a fertile tool for stimulating debate and cross-cultural comparison while integrating the study of vocabulary and grammar within an enlightening literary, cultural, and political framework. This presentation features classroom-tested sequences focusing on the critical study of authentic materials about the banlieue.

The Parisian suburbs—la banlieue—are a multifaceted space inhabited by 8 million people where history and tradition meet social turmoil and exclusion. Through an exploration of this complex environment, learners can access a deeper understanding of contemporary France. They can reconsider the stereotypical view of Paris as a city of light through an encounter with antithetical representations of the political and societal changes reflected in the banlieue. Literary texts, films, political cartoons, music and media coverage provide exceptional pedagogical resources and exemplify some of the most vivid innovations of French language. These resources provide a fertile tool for stimulating debate and cross-cultural comparison while integrating the study of vocabulary and grammar within an enlightening literary, cultural, and political framework. This presentation features classroom-tested sequences focusing on the critical study of authentic materials about the banlieue.

Teaching a medieval text poses a number of challenges: finding the right edition, determining whether or not to include the Old French version, presenting the social and historical context in a succinct yet efficient manner, supplying a glossary, creating appropriate linguistic exercises and thinking up questions that will illuminate the more difficult aspects of the text and inspire lively discussions. The document presented below is an example of possible solutions for making a 13th-century narrative, La Châtelaine de Vergy, accessible to higher intermediate-level or advanced students.